Shadow's Strength
by cows0816
Summary: One day, Haruhi shows up late to the club, and Kyouya can't help thinking that her normal smile doesn't seem quite so normal. Since he can't stand not knowing secrets, he's determined to find out what's wrong with the club's secret princess even though he is quite sure he won't like the answer. KyoHaru. Rating may change later.
1. Suspicions

Shadow's Strength

Chapter I - Suspicions

At first glance, the day seemed like any other inside of music room #3. Thanks to a course on Greek mythology the previous week, Tamaki insisted that the theme be Greek gods. Thus, marble and draped fabric were in abundance, and the girls' hearts fluttered as Tamaki—or Apollo as he commanded everyone to call him for the day—recited poetry and philosophy to them. The Dionysus twins (because just one party god wouldn't suffice, apparently), fed each other grapes as their clients squealed at the scene playing out in front of them. So as Kyouya, in the guise of Hermes for the day, looked around the room and watched a small Hephaestus eat cookies in the shape of drachma beside the silent Ares, all seemed to be going along as smoothly as ever. That is, all was going well other than Haruhi being surprisingly late.

A periodic tapping noise rang from Kyouya's clipboard as he struck his pen against it with irritation. Normally, Haruhi would at least give advance notice if she was going to be late—or not show up at all, as he was beginning to suspect—but he hadn't heard anything from her. He questioned the twins about it before club activities began for the day when Haruhi was already later than normal, but they both just shrugged, saying that she seemed a bit out of it during class, but otherwise no different than usual, and figured that she just got caught up. He accepted the response, figuring that Haruhi would eventually show and they could just cover for her until then, but with her continued absence, the aura around Kyouya seemed to darken with irritation after each clack of his pen.

"With that aura, Kyouya-senpai should've been Hades instead of Hermes," Kaoru joked to his brother just loud enough for the bespectacled boy to hear from across the room, and Kyouya gave the two a glare as his aura flared around him even more. "With that look, he should be Medusa!" Hikaru declared, and the two laughed, hanging on each other as the girls around them watched with amusement. Even without Haruhi there, the twins had no shortage of ways to amuse themselves, though they were a bit disheartened to not be able to tease their favorite toy, especially after deciding that she would be Athena for the day.

But after laughing a while longer, the twins turned their attention back to their guests, and Kyouya gripped his pen tighter, though he forced himself to stop tapping it as he went back to taking notes. However, not long after he went back to work, Haruhi appeared through the doors and immediately apologized to him for her tardiness as the others came bounding over, momentarily forgetting their guests. Somehow, even when all was as usual, it just wasn't quite right without her there.

They all bounced around her—other than Mori, of course, though the god of war still seemed to be in a much better mood now that she'd arrived—and lightly scolded her for being late while asking what she was doing. She responded in the same way that the twins had suggested, that she'd lost track of time while studying and apologized for worrying them all, but even as she smiled, Kyouya noticed that her color was paler than normal and eyes were slightly red. Perhaps it was just from studying too much with her contacts in combined with a bad night's sleep, but Kyouya couldn't quite pinpoint why that didn't seem right.

So he decided to make the others give her a little room, reminding them that they still had guests to entertain, and after another moment or two, Haruhi took a deep breath and her shoulders slumped slightly once she was no longer the center of attention. Kyouya added her reaction to the list of things that just were slightly different from normal, but after another moment of her simply standing next to him, she quietly said that she'd go change into her costume, despite the club time being almost halfway done.

He simply gave a nod, continuing to watch her from the corner of my eyes as she went to the other room. To him it seemed like her walk was somehow unsteady. He thought that perhaps her legs went numb from having a poor posture while studying for so long, but that reasoning still just didn't sit right with him. He frowned and unconsciously started tapping his pen against his clipboard again.

In spite of Kyouya's irritation with Haruhi's lateness and then with his own intuition, the rest of the club time went smoothly and Haruhi volunteered to stay behind to clean up since she was so tardy. The others volunteered to stay, but she managed to shake them off eventually, saying that she could handle it and that they had their own homework to do. However, Kyouya simply sat down at his computer instead of leaving, deciding to finish up budgeting and transactions for the club before heading back.

Confused when he didn't leave, Haruhi asked why he was staying, and Kyouya couldn't shake the feeling that he'd heard disappointment in her voice after he told her that he still had some work to do. That, of course, only served to aggravate him more. She didn't say anything else, though, and left him to his work as she set about cleaning up. He tapped away at his keyboard, entering transactions and balancing budgets, but his eyes frequently glanced away from his screen, observing as Haruhi moved around the room, cleaning up teacups and snacks. Occasionally he noticed her shoulders quiver, and he thought she was about to cry, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out _why_—a fact that irked him to no end—but then she would straighten and take a deep breath before going back to work. Even so, after the fourth time it happened, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Haruhi?" he called across the room, voice as calm as ever and betraying none of his confusion or frustration.

"Hm?" She looked over. "Do you need something, senpai?"

"If you're concerned about a class, I could tutor you in the subject," he suggested. He knew that if that was what she was concerned about, then she'd probably agree, and he'd feel better knowing that her behavior was simply a misunderstanding on his part. However, if that wasn't the case, then he would know that she wasn't actually studying after school and his suspicions would be proven right.

"What are you—" she started, confused before cutting herself off. "Oh! No, I just got a little carried away earlier. Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine," she replied giving him a reassuring smile before turning back to work, but with his suspicions confirmed, he wondered if she really would be fine.

Even so, he didn't bother with pressing the issue. Instead, he decided to just keep a closer eye on her and see if the seemingly normal day simply had something unusual occur that was throwing her off and distracting her so much that she cleaned the same table three times.

He watched for a while longer, but then finished his work and tried not to feel insulted by the relief in her expression when he said goodbye. As he walked out the doors, he finally realized what had set off his disbelief of her story to begin with: she didn't have any study materials with her when she arrived. She wasn't the type to just leave her books where they were and run off to the club when she realized that she was running late. She would've had them with her, and she wasn't the type to lie to everyone's faces—at least not normally.

It was then that Kyoya realized that the day wasn't usual at all, and something was definitely wrong with the club's only female host.

For the rest of the week, Kyouya observed her behavior carefully, and as each day passed, his hopes were slowly waning that the issue was a fleeting one. Dark circles started to appear under her eyes. She seemed to have tried hiding them with makeup, but being the amateur that she was with cosmetics, the cover-up did little to hide the bags slowly forming. She was spacing out more than usual and only gave muted reactions to the antics of the other members, and Kyouya unconsciously continued his irritated tapping. By the end of the week, it was obvious that he wasn't the only one who had noticed her behavior. The twins and Tamaki began to act even more exuberantly than usual, trying to get a reaction from her, a smile, something, but at the same time, Honey and Mori did their best to intercept the hyperactive members, trying to give Haruhi some space to relax since she was obviously worn out, for whatever reason. Even Kyouya tried to lessen the load of her work, making the others do the errands and other tasks that Haruhi usually performed—under the pretense that they were being punished for their annoying habits—in order to let her have a little more rest. But in spite of their efforts, she her smiles were getting less frequent and more strained.

By the time Friday's club activities ended and she had gone home, Kyouya made his weekly call to her father and wondered if Ranka would be able to shed light on the issue.

"Oh, Kyouya-kun~ Thank you for calling! I know you've been so busy that I wasn't expecting to hear from you this week!" Ranka said, obviously pleased to be hearing from his daughter's friend.

"Not at all. Of course I would make time to call you, Ranka-san," he replied. Honestly, he didn't have anything more than usual going on, and the club didn't really have anything else specifically keeping any them busy, so he couldn't help wondering why Ranka thought that he was so occupied. But he thought that perhaps Haruhi had said something, since she seemed to be lying about studying a lot lately, he didn't want to contradict whatever she may have said just yet. Thus he merely gave a standard polite response.

"Well, Haruhi's just been so tired lately, and you've been helping her study so late that I just thought you'd be worn out too since you've got your own studies to worry about, but you're so diligent! Really, I just can't believe that you're only the vice-president!" he replied happily, but his response only made Kyouya frown more. Despite his suspicions, he was surprised that Haruhi really had been lying about her studies.

"It's really no problem, though I am concerned about her being tired as well. She's seemed a little out of it during club recently. Perhaps I should make her use that time to rest instead," Kyouya volunteered, hoping to coax more information out of Ranka.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Kyouya-kun! She's been really spaced out while at home lately too. I think a little rest will help her a lot. Of course, I don't want her to put you through any more trouble. You're always taking such good care of her. Just let me know if I can do anything for you~"

"Not at all. It's my pleasure, Ranka-san, but if you could let me know if you notice anything else odd, I would appreciate it. I want to avoid accidently overworking her, you understand."

"Of course! Thank you for being so concerned about her all the time."

They chatted pleasantly for a while longer, but Kyouya only seemed to have more questions after talking to Ranka than he had answers. For the last day or two, he wondered if maybe she had a secret part-time job that was wearing her out, and that was the reason for her appearing so exhausted, but he was sure that Ranka would know about it if that was the case, and he obviously didn't know anything more than Kyouya did. And nothing explained those moments when she looked like she was about to cry.

Growing more frustrated, Kyouya sighed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what could possibly be going on with the club's secret princess.

* * *

**Heya! So this fic has been in my head so much that I've been losing sleep and unable to concentrate on writing anything else, including papers for my summer classes. Thus, I decided to finally put it to paper. It'll probably end up being about 40 chapters. (I've already written through chapter 20 in the last week, but I still have to edit everything.)  
**

**For anyone who reads my Naruto fics, I promise I haven't abandoned them! I've just been busy with classes and couldn't get this one out of my head. I'll be back to them as soon as I can!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you think is going on with Haruhi or if you have any ideas for club craziness. Have an awesome day and thanks for reading!**


	2. Investigation

Shadow's Strength

Chapter II - Investigation

The following Monday, Kyouya pulled Haruhi aside before club and mentioned to her that she could take off for the week if she was tired. She started to refuse but then seemed to suddenly remember something and said that she would just take the day off to go home and rest, thanking Kyouya for his concern. Still, somehow it didn't seem like sleeping was her plan which only frustrated the Shadow King more. His business was knowing things, but he couldn't figure out why she was lying to him and everyone else—let alone what she was lying about, and it simply spoiled his mood even more as the club prepared for the day without her.

However, a few minutes before it was time to open the doors, he received a call from one of his older brothers. He was needed at a business deal at one of the local hospitals. It wasn't anything major and Kyouya really didn't have a role to play at the meeting other than stand quietly as the dutiful third son. Of course, even though his presence would be redundant, he still had no right to refuse, so he had to duck out of club activities early as well, but for the duration of the ride to the hospital, his mind continued to be preoccupied with Haruhi.

Obviously, she was in some sort of trouble. He knew that she wasn't the type to ask for help—that point was made abundantly clear when they went to Okinawa—and while that still bothered all of them since they cared for her, he knew it wasn't something that would change easily. But while she wouldn't ask for help, Kyouya never expected that Haruhi would go so far as to lie about her problems to everyone, even her father, to keep from having to rely on them. So, if he knew her as well as he thought—and he was quite certain that he did—she had some sort of really big problem. Or perhaps something she was ashamed of? In any case, it was something that she wouldn't easily share with anyone, no matter how many lies she had to tell.

Groaning, he rubbed his eyes until he saw blasts of color behind his eyelids, frustrated beyond belief.

Once upon a time, he wouldn't have cared about it. If someone else was upset, it didn't matter to him—he had enough of his own problems to deal with—but Haruhi was the exception to all the rules that each club member once held dear. While he wasn't going to admit it to anyone else, Kyouya couldn't lie to himself that even he had become somewhat infatuated with the girl. He didn't plan to act on his sentiments anytime soon, if ever, but seeing her in trouble with some unknown problem bothered him—to put it mildly—especially since he prided himself on knowing everything about everyone.

"—ya-sama? Kyouya-sama, we've arrived," Tachibana called, jarring the boy from his thoughts. Taking a breath, he pushed his frustrations down and replaced his usual stoic expression, heading inside the building.

The meeting was dull, but he forced himself to focus and keep from falling back into his thoughts surrounding Haruhi. However, once the meeting was over he couldn't help letting out a silent sigh of relief to be done with it all. He headed back out, ready to go home, but as he got out of the elevator and headed toward the exit, something caught his eye.

A familiar brown mop of hair in the Ouran uniform stood in line to check in at the front counter. But even facing the opposite direction, he would recognize Haruhi anywhere, and a sinking feeling suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach, wiping any thoughts from his mind as his body robotically moved into the car, letting Tachibana drive him back home even as his mind was stuck on the image of her hunched shoulders that looked even smaller than normal.

Eventually he found himself sitting on his couch, staring at the ceiling, and his mind set back to work. Haruhi had lied about going home to rest, that much was obvious, and she lied about it so that she could go to the hospital. For a moment, he wondered if maybe she was visiting someone, but he quickly nixed the thought. There were few people that he knew she would go to visit at a hospital if they were sick, but even then, she wouldn't lie to Ranka about it. No, she must have been there for herself.

A wave of nausea coursed through him and he just barely managed to keep himself under control.

She was there for herself, and since she had been lying about it, he knew that there was definitely something very, very wrong. She may not have openly admitted to having a cold under normal circumstances, but she also wouldn't lie about going to a doctor's appointment if it was a simple cold. No, this had to be something significant.

The hair on the back of Kyouya's neck raised up as he thought about the implications of his realization.

Immediately, he reached out for his laptop, deciding to attempt to obtain her medical records. She was at one of his family's hospitals, after all, but after a few hours of effort, he conceded that the system's security was too strong—absently noting that it was a good thing, even if it obstructed his current ambition. Instead, he tried to see if he could at the very least acquire the appointment times or the doctors that she'd seen in hopes that it could give him a clue, but the security maintaining patient confidentiality was still too strong for him to find anything useful. He stared at the ceiling for a while longer and was about to give up for the night before remembering the security cameras in the main lobby.

Surely, he thought, that wouldn't be as hard to obtain. He could at least see how often she'd been going to the hospital. Finally, he hit a stroke of luck as his hunch proved correct and managed to get a hold of the camera footage from the last three weeks. But while he watched it at 60x speed, he still spent the rest of the night and the morning going through it all, and by the time he finished, the sun had made its appearance again and he had to get ready for school.

On the plus side, most of his frustrations were gone, but he would gladly have that back over the nearly crippling worry that had rooted itself in the pit of his stomach. Over the last three weeks, Haruhi had been to the hospital three times. He couldn't know if she had been going even more frequently than that since he only had three weeks' worth of footage available to review, but given the timing of the visits, he doubted that she had any prior appointments. Her first appointment was at a time that would have been after club hours, the Friday before her behavior started to seem odd. Her second visit was the day that she was late to the club, during the time that she said she'd been studying, and the third was when he just saw her the previous afternoon.

If he had any hope left that nothing major was wrong, it was completely wiped out, and during his entire ride to school, he felt like he might get sick.

By all appearances, he didn't seem any different from usual, but he was distracted the entire day. He felt anxious for club hours to begin so that he could see her sooner and finally solve the puzzle that had been bothering him for days, but he also wished that it would never come, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answers that he was determined to find. So, when the final bell rang, his feet were sluggish as he headed to the music room. Upon arrival, he found that the room had another occupant. Haruhi was already there, but she was curled up in a tight ball on the couch in the corner of the room, asleep. Even from a distance, he could see that the bags under her eyes had gotten even worse. He quickly grabbed out some stationary and posted a note on the door, saying that activities for the day were canceled before sending a quick group text to the others and then silencing his phone to ignore the fallout. Haruhi was obviously not getting enough sleep as it was, and he didn't want to force her awake from the little bit of rest that she was finally getting. After staring at her for a moment, he grabbed a blanket from the back room and spread it over her.

Maybe it was because he was up all night, but only at that moment when he was staring down at her did he realize that he was completely out of his depth. He wasn't sure what else to do. While he always played the babysitter—or "mother" as Tamaki liked to say—for the club, he was still a member of the spoiled elite who never had to tend to anyone else.

But once she was covered, he noticed that she not only had black circles beneath her eyes, but there were also streaks of tears. His chest constricted at the sight, but instead an urge to protect her bubbled up from some unknown place within him. He may not have had any idea about how to dote on a person, but his family owned all sorts of medical facilities. So whatever was wrong, surely he would be able to help. He just had to get her to tell him what was going on, but a quiet murmur from the girl in front of him pulled him from his thoughts again.

"Mom…" she mumbled in her sleep, and his heart seemed to squeeze even tighter. He knew that she rarely expressed openly how much she missed her mother, but he knew that she did, and no matter how much Kyouya played the mother role of the group, nothing would fill the hole in her heart that her mother's death had caused even if it was nearly eleven years ago. He understood that feeling, after all. However, his thoughts ground to a halt when she mumbled again. "Now…me too…"

It took a full minute of staring at her before a single thought could pass through his mind.

_Perhaps that's..._

He cut himself off and immediately went to a table across the room and pulled out his laptop, not wanting to wake her as he worked. He might not be able to acquire Haruhi's medical records, but perhaps he could find her family history. After a while though, he realized it was pointless. The security was still too tight for him to get anywhere. His eyes lifted above the screen to stare at the girl across the room and tried to think of anything that could help him in his quest for answers. Suddenly, a thought hit him and he returned to his search, knowing that death certificates were accessible to the public. But when he found what he was looking for, he hoped with all his might that he was wrong.

* * *

**Hiya! Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked the chapter. Any guesses for what's up with Haruhi?  
I'll have the next chapter up sometime next week, so I hope you'll look forward to it. I'm finally done with classes, so if all goes smoothly, I'll be spending the next few weeks hammering out this story.**

**Hope you have an awesome day!**


	3. Reason

Shadow's Strength

Chapter III - Reason

Silently, Kyouya closed his laptop and walked back over to Haruhi, sitting on the couch while doing his best to keep from stirring her. He stared down at the girl, who had somehow managed to make herself even smaller than usual by curling up so tight, and hesitated for a moment before gently patting her head as he attempted to sort out his own thoughts. He wasn't known for being an affectionate individual—quite the opposite, really—but he was doing it more for his own sake at that moment than hers. He wouldn't admit it aloud, of course, but he was rattled, and feeling the soft brown locks against his palm was marginally comforting.

Even if he was correct—and he sincerely hoped that he wasn't—there was still a chance that he would be able to help, or at least find someone who could. Of course, there would also be a lot to work out with school, but he would be able to enlist the host club to deal with that as long as she didn't put up too much resistance. Although, given her apparent fatigue, he doubted that she would have the energy to argue with him even if she was opposed. But he had to confirm the problem first, which meant that somehow he'd have to get her to tell him, no matter how much he had a sinking feeling that he didn't want to hear the answer.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to force himself to relax. Being riled up about it wouldn't help the situation or her. She was obviously upset enough as it was, so he knew that he couldn't add to her stress by being overemotional or inconsistent. He decided that his role was to help her, and perhaps give her some solace should the opportunity arise, since she was already wearing herself thin by keeping her problems to herself.

Suddenly, he felt her stirring beneath his hand, and despite the pep-talk he'd given himself, he thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest as he removed his hand from her hair.

"Mhmm… Kyouya-senpai?" she asked groggily, blinking as she looked up at him before looking around, seeming confused as she woke.

"Club was cancelled today. You fell asleep," he explained concisely as she sat up. She stretched tiredly, giving a yawn before flinching, her face twisting with pain as she hunched over and seemed to have a hard time catching her breath.

Surprised and immediately concerned, he found himself kneeling in front of her as he gripped her shoulders, looking up at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked urgently, his tone commanding a response even as it revealed his concern. She cringed for half a second longer before pulling back from his hands and trying to put on a reassuring smile, but he'd watched her enough to know it was forced.

"I'm fine. It was just a little muscle spasm. I guess I was sleeping in a pretty odd position," she lied, not looking Kyouya in the eyes as she took off the blanket that was still partially covering her and started to fold it. He felt a familiar irritation rise up within him as he stood again, but as he watched her hands shake slightly as she fumbled with the blanket, the irritation gave way to something else. He stood there at a loss for another moment as he tried to sort through his own thoughts, but then he reminded himself that he was not only a host but also an Ootori. He'd been trained his entire life to charm everyone and sooth their concerns, no matter the situation.

"Haruhi," he said more gently as he took the blanket from her, letting his hands lightly slide over hers.

_Ah, so that's why_, he thought to himself before pushing his own thoughts back down. He could deal with his own sentiments later. There was a more pressing issue at hand.

"I saw you at the hospital yesterday as I left from a meeting. Whatever is going on, I can help," he continued calmly, before placing a light kiss on the back of her hand. He let his lips linger just a fraction longer than he normally would when entertaining a guest, but she wasn't a guest, and he wasn't entertaining. "Tell me what's wrong."

Her hand trembled in his and her shoulders started shaking before a sob finally broke from her chest, and the sound was enough to make Kyouya's arms automatically reach out and pull her to his chest as she cried. He left the blanket abandoned on the ground as he stiffly held her.

Eventually she spoke, and his stomach turned into a block of ice. He held her a little tighter as she confirmed his fears. From the moment he found her mother's death certificate, he had a feeling of dread coursing through him. Something, maybe intuition, told him that he was right, and as the woman in his arms spoke, fear and panic wrenched his core.

"Just like Mom," she cried, and the results of his research clouded his vision.

_Fujioka Kotoko: Cause of Death – Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC); Commonly known as—_

"Breast cancer," she choked out, and the words rang again and again in Kyouya's head, but he forced himself to calm down as much as he could manage as he awkwardly ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to calm her too. For what felt like eternity, only Haruhi's cries could be heard in the room, echoing off of every surface, but eventually he spoke up.

"Okay," he said mostly to himself as he took a deep breath to try and get his brain working again. He would help her. He wasn't going to make it worse. "You can stay with me and take my sister's old room for the night. It'll be too hard to see Ranka-san right now, right?" he asked gently, and she gave a meek nod. "I'll take care of it. Grab your bag." She hesitated for a moment, but then pulled away and they both collected their things.

"Ready?" he asked, and she gave another quiet nod, wiping her eyes as she straightened up. Kyouya led the way as he called Tachibana to pick them up, and by the time they made it to the front entrance, the car was already waiting for them. The ride to his place was quiet other than the hum of the car's engine and her occasionally shaky breath. Even when they arrived, it stayed quiet until Kyouya called for a maid to bring Haruhi some clothes and lead her to the bath. In the meantime, he called for food to be brought to his room and then dialed Ranka's number.

"Oh, Kyouya-kun? I'm surprised to hear from you today. Is something the matter?"

"No, it's nothing like that Ranka-san, but I'm afraid that Haruhi fell asleep while studying at my place, and I would hate to wake her when she's been so tired lately, so I thought that I would have a maid take her to sleep in my sister's old room if that's alright with you," he said, deciding to go with a convincing story. Where Haruhi wasn't usually the type to lie, and thus was rather miserable at it, Kyouya had less trouble.

"Oh, my. She's been working so hard. As long as it's not too much of a bother for you, then that would be fine just this once," Ranka said seriously, his unspoken threat hanging between them, but while Kyouya had an infatuation with—no, held certain sentiments in regards to the girl, romance was the absolute farthest thing from his mind.

"Of course, Ranka-san. I simply want to let her rest," he replied honestly, and once Ranka was satisfied and gave his permission again, they hung up. Kyouya gave a quiet sigh and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes with enough pressure to see spots until he heard his door open. Haruhi walked in wearing some of his sister's old pajamas, anxiety seeping into her expression along with all the other emotions that had been brewing within her for days.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry to be bothering you like this," she said quietly, still standing near the door. Feeling like he'd been struck in the face, he stood up and walked over to her. He was careful to keep from looking angry, but he showed his seriousness as he looked into her eyes.

"Haruhi, I extended the offer, so you shouldn't be apologizing," he scolded before pausing to adjust his glasses as he averted his gaze. "That aside, you should depend on others a little more, especially under these circumstances."

Slowly, she nodded, but then her eyes started to prickle with tears again, and she couldn't stop them from escaping even as she tried to brush them away. Kyouya tried to swallow, feeling his heart catch in his throat as he reached out to softly muss her hair.

"Don't keep it to yourself," he told her quietly as his free hand lightly grabbed hers and pulled her towards him, and she buried her face in his chest again. She wouldn't normally cry like this in front of anyone else, but in her current situation, she just couldn't stop herself. While it was comforting to be in Kyouya's arms, even he wasn't able to keep the fears and panic that had been festering inside her for days at bay.

She cried like that for a while longer before some of the thoughts that had been plaguing her sleepless nights started to slip out.

"What do I do? I'm so scared!" she cried, choking on a sob before more words rushed out. "How am I supposed to tell Dad? He already lost Mom because of it—" she cut herself off as she sobbed even harder, holding onto the back of Kyouya's jacket so tightly that her knuckles turned white even as her entire body shook with her cries. "I don't want to make him sad. What will happen to him if… if I—"

Her voice cracked, breaking off the thought before she could finish. Kyouya could feel tears threatening to fall from his own eyes, but he forced them back as he listened carefully, running a shaky hand up and down her back again.

"I don't know what to do! I-I have to get surgery and start treatment soon, but… But it's not like I can keep it a secret from everyone! And… I remember how Mom was. She was so sick! I don't want to… I'm so scared!"

Apparently out of words, she just cried until there was a knock at the door. At the sudden sound, she jumped from his arms.

"Just dinner, in case you're hungry. You can go to the bathroom over there if you don't want anyone else to see you," he told her quietly. She nodded, still sniffling as tears slipped from her eyes, but the shock when she heard the knock had stopped her sobs. She quickly headed to the room that Kyouya had pointed out as he answered the door, letting the maid bring in the food and set it out on the coffee table. Once she was done, Kyouya dismissed her, shaking off her questions of whether he needed anything else.

Then he knocked on the bathroom door and called that the food was ready whenever Haruhi wanted it. The door opened as he stepped away and he let her walk in front of him and sit down. He sat next to her and they both grabbed a plate. Neither of them were particularly hungry, but they ate anyway despite the food tasting like ash.

* * *

**Sorry for being a little slow with getting this chapter up. Chapter 4 will be up Friday sometime. Good job to anyone who guessed correctly, and don't worry. There will definitely be a happy ending. (I would be a sobbing mess for the rest of my life otherwise.)**

**Hope everyone has a great day!**


	4. Solutions

Shadow's Strength

Chapter IV - Solutions

The pair ate in silence, and even once their plates were mostly empty, neither spoke until Kyouya noticed his guest starting to nod off.

"I'll take you to my sister's room," he told her quietly, and his voice snapped her back to alertness. She hesitated for just a second before nodding and mumbling another thank you, but he watched and frowned.

"Or you can take my bed, if you prefer," he suggested, wondering if perhaps she didn't really want to be alone just yet. She looked surprised, but her response confirmed his hunch.

"Is it really okay? I don't want to put you out," she said, worrying more about others than herself, as usual.

"Go ahead. I sleep on the couch half the time anyway," he shrugged, and she nodded after a second and got up, giving him a small bow.

"Thank you, senpai. Goodnight," she told him before quickly moving to crawl into his bed.

Not long after, he heard slow, even breaths drifting from his bed, letting him know that she'd fallen asleep without much trouble, much to his relief. He heaved a heavy sigh and stared up at his ceiling, trying to process everything, but there was just too much to be able to accept it all at once. So after a while, he forced himself to go through it logically.

'_What is most important? Haruhi's health, obviously_,' he reasoned himself, but there was little he could do at that moment. '_So what's the most pressing issue?_' He paused, wondering what that could be until the image of her excessively pale skin and tired eyes appeared in the back of his mind. '_Rest and nourishment_,' he concluded, but he had already ensured that as best he could for the time being. '_What made her become exhausted and malnourished? Being unable to eat or sleep because of her fears_.' He frowned to himself unconsciously as he reclined against the couch. '_What made her be able to eat and sleep tonight? Most likely a combination of exhaustion and marginal relief from finally being able to share her concerns_.'

Quickly, he caged the feelings that rose from her sharing her concerns with him and turned back to his reasoning process. '_Only sleeping once exhaustion is overwhelming is not a sustainable habit, so what will allow her to sleep consistently? Continued relief_.' He paused again. Simply voicing her concerns would not provide a sustainable relief method. '_What would be a sustainable method of relief? Eliminating or minimizing her concerns_.' He frowned again, wondering if he'd just led himself to another impasse until he remembered what she'd said as she was crying. Obviously, the main root of her concerns was her diagnosis for which he could do little, but perhaps he could eliminate the stemming issues.

"_What do I do? I'm so scared!"_

Well, she started with the ambiguous, for sure, but he flipped open his laptop anyway and started a hunt for what steps to take and ways to help her stay calm and minimize stress. Collecting information seemed to be the first order of business, and that was his specialty, so he passed the next few hours by trying to figure out what everything meant, what her options were, and all of the risks involved with every alternative. Since he didn't quite know the details of her diagnosis yet, the information he was able to retrieve was still somewhat vague, but eventually, he had created meticulous packet of his findings so that he could give it to her later to keep her from having to do all the research herself. Of course, he also made sure to note down the contact information of the best doctors and surgeons since he would definitely arrange for them to preside over her treatment.

As for keeping her calm, he made a mental note to ask her if she would permit him to inform the rest of the club of the situation. The twins would be able to take care of her homework and class notes, and maybe she could practice yoga with Mori and Honey to relieve some stress. But he would have to wait until morning to discuss it with her. At the very least, he would definitely arrange for her to spend some time at one of his family's resorts.

_"How am I supposed to tell Dad? He already lost Mom because of it."_

Kyouya found himself frowning at the ceiling once again. While he spoke to Ranka on a regular basis, he didn't feel it was his place to tell him about his daughter's diagnosis, which meant that responsibility, unfortunately, still rested with Haruhi. The crease in his brow deepened. Unsatisfied with the answer that he would be unable to do anything, he continued brainstorming. Perhaps he could arrange for Ranka to have a few days off from work so that the two would be able to spend some time together. While he wasn't particularly close with his own family—to put it mildly—he knew that Haruhi did deeply care for her father, and he was sure that they would both like to have some time together once she would break the news. So, to his own personal task list, he added Ranka's work to the list of places he would need to call the next day.

_"I don't want to make him sad. What will happen to him if… if I—"_

Kyouya's breath caught in his throat as he tried to come up with a solution. His mind couldn't logically process the thought of losing Haruhi. But after getting nowhere for a few minutes, he grit his teeth together and fisted his hands, reminding himself it wasn't about him. He had to take care of her concerns first, be damned his own emotions, so he bit his cheek as he concentrated.

Obviously, the host club had become its own sort of family unit, and they had grown even closer since Haruhi had joined. So if something happened to her, it was only logical that they would also take care of her biological family. He could keep in contact with Ranka, and the twins would surely be happy to help him with outfits, makeup, or anything else. And while Ranka and Tamaki didn't particularly get along, Kyouya was sure that Tamaki would gladly take care of anything that the twins couldn't. As for Mori and Honey, perhaps they could help Kyouya keep an eye on Ranka as well, since they seemed to get along rather well.

Kyouya swallowed roughly and added for his own sake that all of those solutions were, of course, entirely hypothetical and only for the absolute worst-case scenario.

_"I don't know what to do! I-I have to get surgery and start treatment soon, but… But it's not like I can keep it a secret from everyone! And… I remember how Mom was. She was so sick! I don't want to… I'm so scared, senpai!"_

He was already going to arrange for the best doctors and surgeons, so there wasn't much else that he could do in terms of treatment, but he jotted down a reminder to also set her up in one of the private medical suites for recovery. But as for keeping it a secret, especially at Ouran, that would be more difficult. However, with Tamaki's father being the headmaster and with Haruhi being in the same class as the twins, they would surely be able to keep the news and rumors from spreading too far, but that also meant that the host club would have to be told.

He closed his eyes and sprawled out on the couch, starting to feel his lack of sleep catch up with him. He knew that no matter what he did to try to calm her fears, Haruhi would still always remember her mother dying of the illness with which she was now diagnosed, and Kyouya couldn't even imagine the pain and fear that must be causing her. He frowned as he rolled to his side, trying to lock down his own fears and sorrow over the situation.

He had no idea what to do, but at the very least, he would be sure not to leave her alone to deal with it all. And, being unable to come up with any more solutions for the night, he finally gave into his fatigue and fell asleep. At some point in the night, he felt someone sit next to him and take up the other half of the couch, making him stir a bit grumpily, but he fell back asleep easily enough and didn't wake again until his phone alarm went off in the morning.

Groggily, he sat up, but realized that there was movement next to him. He looked over to find Haruhi curled up beneath his comforter, and he frowned as he remembered everything from the night before. When she simply flipped over instead of getting up, he left her to sleep a little longer as he got up to take a quick shower. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be going to school that day anyway, and she could use all the sleep that she could get.

Once he was finished and dressed, he went back out and finally woke her up, shaking her shoulder a little.

She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked at him, confused for a second until reality seemed to settle in on her expression again. "Ah, sorry about this…" she said, looking slightly embarrassed to be found on the couch rather than in the bed, but he just shrugged.

"More importantly, are you going to school today? I'll have the twins take care of your classwork if not," he asked, and Haruhi looked away, staring at the wall behind his shoulder.

"Maybe I should just stay home… I have to tell Dad still, after all," she mumbled, thinking to herself, and Kyouya nodded.

"I'll take care of everything with the school. I can arrange for Ranka-san to have tonight off too, if you like," he suggested, and after taking a deep breath, she nodded. "I put this together, if you want to look through it," he said as he handed her the packet he'd assembled with the findings of all his research. "Also, if you would like me to, I can inform the others."

Haruhi took the packet, but tensed at his offer to tell the rest of the club. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep it from them, but it wasn't fair to make Kyouya have to cover for her more than he already had. So while she didn't want to face the group herself just yet, she didn't want to burden Kyouya with anything else either, so she took a slow breath to try to steady herself.

"It's alright. You've done enough, so I can tell them later," she told him, but she couldn't look him in the eyes. He stared at her for a little while before heaving a sigh, rubbing his eyes as just a little of his frustration slipped through.

"Just depend on me a little, okay? I know that you don't like to worry others, but when you put on a brave face like that, it's just going to make us worry more. And it makes me feel like you think I'm unreliable," he scolded, and when he looked down at her again, she was finally looking back up at him. Her surprise slowly turned to regret.

"Sorry," she apologized honestly, dropping her gaze, but he dropped his hand to her hair, making her look up at him again.

"Just tell me, do you want me to handle the others?" he asked, voice gentler this time, and he couldn't help feeling slightly relieved when she nodded beneath his hand. "Then I'll take care of everything," he said, giving her a reassuring pat before dropping his hand and heading to the door. "Go ahead and change. I'll wait in the car and give you a ride home," he told her before leaving, giving a little wave over his shoulder as she called another thank you. He called for a car and then messaged all the others, telling them that he had to talk to them after school and that club would be canceled again, figuring no one would be able to entertain guests once he gave them the news, and he sent an extra message to Kaoru asking him to take care of notes and homework for Haruhi for the day. Finally, he called the bar where Ranka worked and, through various methods, arranged for him to have the day off.

By the time he finished, Haruhi climbed into the car and they were off, but as he watched her from the corner of his eye, he could see her trying to take deep breaths and calm her shaking hands. Without a word, he reached over and took one of her hands in his, never moving his eyes from staring out the window. He simply wanted to reassure her, and she squeezed his hand back as the trembling in her fingers stopped despite still feeling like ice beneath his.

* * *

**Yo! Hope you liked the chapter and will be looking forward to Kyouya informing the club in the next one! Thanks for reading. I'll have chapter 5 up next week.**

**Have a great day!**


	5. Unveiling

Shadow's Strength

Chapter V - Unveiling

Once Haruhi was safely inside her apartment, Kyouya sighed, allowing himself a moment to try to come to terms with just how much the Earth seemed to have shifted beneath his feet, but the moment was brief. Through the rest of the school day, Kyouya did his best to pay attention, but he spent most of his time either brushing off Tamaki's never-ending questions or staring at his phone. While Haruhi didn't say anything about messaging him once she'd told Ranka, he still thought that he might get a message from at least one of them, but his hopes dwindled as the last bell rang and his inbox remained empty. Finally, he heaved a sigh as Tamaki ran around him, still badgering him for answers as they headed to the music room.

He continued fielding questions until finally everyone arrived, and while Tamaki and Honey seemed simply curious—albeit annoyingly so—he could tell that the twins were concerned. A certain anxiousness seemed to be present in Mori's aura too, but Kyouya wasn't quite sure since he always found Mori to be a difficult read—frustratingly so, if he were to be honest. So, he took a steadying breath and assumed the role of the responsible one yet again before he spoke, knowing that there was no easy way to break it to them.

"Haruhi has been diagnosed with breast cancer," he informed them calmly, but the words felt like acid on his tongue. Then he watched as a certain calm passed through the room before the storm began.

Honey's eyes filled with tears before looking up at Mori. The older boy simply placed a hand on his friend's shoulder for a moment as he looked to Kyouya, waiting for more news with a clenched jaw and a furrowed brow. Hikaru and Kaoru automatically sought out each other's hands, looking like they had been slapped across the face, and Tamaki almost ran out of the room to go find her and do…something—even he wasn't sure what, but he just felt like he had to see her face—but Kyouya quickly caught his shoulder and jerked him back into place.

"Get it together," he snapped, but Hikaru's entire body started shaking before he lashed out.

"What would you know?! You only ever cared about the numbers, not her! How the hell are we supposed to stay calm?! Of course we're going to be worried and upset! It's Haruhi we're talking about! Not some costume or prop!" he shouted, and Hikaru probably wouldn't ever understand just how lucky he was that Kyouya had spent his entire life controlling his every emotion.

The older boy's gaze leveled with Hikaru's, and his gaze turned to ice as he approached the redhead like a beast to its prey. "This is not about you. If you act like that around her, you will only cause more trouble, and I am personally eliminating all problems," he seethed, making each word pointed and precise. He maintained the frosty stare until Kaoru's hand on his brother's shoulder made Hikaru back down, and then Kyouya turned back to everyone, waiting to see if anyone else would challenge him. When no one did, Mori spoke up.

"What do we do?"

Kyouya filled them all in and relayed to them their roles in his plans, and once he was done with his piece, they began proposing and discussing their own ideas. But shortly after the conversation began, his focus turned to his phone which suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

_Told Dad. He wants to come along to my next appointment._

Kyouya felt his shoulders relax slightly and immediately typed up his reply.

_The others know as well. I'll arrange everything._

After another couple moments, he felt his phone buzzed again.

_Thank you, senpai._

He read it and simply flipped his phone shut again, deciding that he would talk to her more once he was done with the club, and tuned back into the conversation. Then they all set about finalizing what they could of their plans and roles before leaving for the day. Mori and Honey left first, and Tamaki called his father to explain the situation. As he was on the phone, the twins started to leave, but Kyouya caught Hikaru's shoulder just as he was about to slip past.

"Accuse me of not caring again, and be prepared for the consequences."

The ice that was present in his voice earlier had completely melted with his anger now that he didn't have to force his calm to maintain the situation, and when Kyouya heard Hikaru gulp with anxiety, he released the younger boy's shoulder, satisfied with his reaction for the moment. The twins quickly left after that, and just as Kyouya was about to go as well, Tamaki called out to him as he flipped his phone shut.

"Haruhi's… She'll be okay, right?"

Kyouya felt a knot form in his throat, and several more in his stomach. That was the one question that he'd been avoiding asking himself the entire time, and as much as he wanted to reassure himself and his friend, he just didn't have the evidence or confidence to give the response that they both so desperately wanted to hear. So after a long, silent moment passed between them, he adjusted his glasses and gave the only answer that he knew to be an incontrovertible and absolute fact.

"She's strong."

They stood there, saying nothing else for a few moments more, but then Kyouya took his leave, pulling his phone out again as the doors to the music room shut behind him. His stomach was still in knots and he was physically and emotionally exhausted, but he still had more to do, and he wasn't one to leave a job unfinished. So he started making calls and arranged for Haruhi's appointment with the oncologist and the surgeon he found, but decided to wait to set up her vacation until after he knew her surgery and treatment schedule. Instead, he called Ranka's workplace again and ensured that he would be able to take off that Friday to go to the appointment with her and the Thursday night before, just in case. Satisfied for the moment, he messaged Haruhi and let her know when and where her appointment would be and said that he'd arrange for a car for her and her father that day as well.

It was a while before he got a response, but eventually he felt his phone vibrate.

_Thank you, but is it really okay to bother you with all this?_

Kyouya nearly growled as he stared at the message that was glaring back at him.

_It'll be more of a problem if you don't._

He had hoped that they'd already taught her a lesson about not relying on others in Okinawa when they all scolded her and he pinned her with paying for the flowers to take responsibility for the situation, but apparently it would take more than that to break her from the habits that had become ingrained in her. His phone stayed silent, and he wondered if that was the end of the conversation for the day, but just as Tachibana pulled in front of the Ootori estate, he finally felt it buzz again.

_Could you come over for dinner tomorrow?_

Kyouya's eyes widened in surprise. Of all the responses he assumed that he would receive, that was not one, but his phone went off again before he even had a chance to type a reply.

_Dad has to work, but I don't want to be alone yet._

He frowned as he read it this time, quickly typing up his response.

_I'll be there at 5._

Pausing for a moment, Kyouya stared at his phone before sending another quick message.

_Tamaki took care of your classes, so I suggest you rest at home._

He headed to his room as he stared at his phone, waiting for another response, and he'd only taken a few steps by the time a new message popped up.

_OK. I'll do that._

That response was the first time he could actually feel the magnitude of just how much she was going through. Normally, nothing got in the way of her studies. School was everything to her before she joined the host club, and it always remained her first priority. But for her to willingly take two days in a row off when she didn't have an unavoidable engagement was proof that she had been holding in much more than she could handle on her own.

_I'll bring Kaoru's notes. Anything else?_

Of course, getting notes and homework from Kaoru meant that they would all know that he was going over to Haruhi's apartment by himself, and he'd have to figure out a way to keep them all from showing up and overwhelming her, but he'd manage it somehow.

_No. Thank you, senpai._

He tossed his bag onto the floor and collapsed against his couch, phone still in hand.

_Anytime. _

He meant it too. He would have gladly helped her anytime she asked even before all of this happened, but now he was going to make a point of doing so.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long to post this! I've had a lot going on lately, but I'll be posting chapter 6 momentarily.**


	6. Reassurance

Shadow's Strength

Chapter VI - Reassurance

_On my way. Be there soon._

Kyouya hit send as he slid into the back seat of his car, sighing with relief to have finally escaped from the Devil Twins. In order to get Haruhi's homework and notes for her to copy, he had to talk to Kaoru. Of course, that meant he would have to explain that he was going to see Haruhi, which led the twins to want to come along. Kyouya was only able to prevent the two from calling the rest of the club by negotiating for another beach outing for the entire club at one of the Ootori resorts over the next break instead. But the twins still wanted to tag along for the day, and that was when he had to resort to blackmailing them to keep them from joining. He had wanted to save those photos of them both being pummeled by Honey—with Mori looking on with serious concern for their well-being—for a special occasion, but given the circumstances he had no other option but to go ahead and put them to use. Luckily, the bespectacled boy had the foresight to keep the fact that he would be eating Haruhi's cooking to himself, otherwise no amount of blackmail would have been able to prevent the twins' unwanted company.

He relaxed into his seat and absently watched the buildings pass. It wasn't like he didn't understand why the twins wanted to see her. He was looking forward to being able to spend some time with her too, after all, but while she obviously didn't want to be alone, he doubted that she was ready to be surrounded by everyone just yet, so he was going to ensure that she had the space she wanted. After all, this was about her, not him or anyone else. Somehow, that started to feel like his own personal mantra.

Soon, the car stopped and he grabbed his bag and the present from the seat next to him as he slid out and headed up to her apartment. She answered quickly after he knocked, and gratefully took the package, a small cake that he had Tachibana pick up, and ushered him inside. From the moment she opened the door, he discreetly watched her every move, even as he slipped into the apartment and took off his shoes. She appeared to be slightly better-rested and her face had a better color than before, so he guessed that she had been able to catch up on her sleep and had eaten some. But while he was glad that she looked a little better, there was still plenty of room for improvement.

"What are you making?" he asked pleasantly, looking around. It had been a while since he'd been in her apartment, but it looked the same as before, aside from the packet that he'd put together being sprawled across the living room table. Something about the sight gave him a twinge in the pit of his stomach.

"Nothing particularly fancy. Just teriyaki salmon and vegetables with rice," she replied with a shrug.

"Can I assist you?" he asked, but she raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical.

"Do you even know how to cook?"

"I can handle chopping vegetables, at least," he replied smoothly, challenging her skepticism as he adjusted his glasses confidently. Really, he didn't have any experience cooking given his upbringing, but he was sure that he could handle something as basic as cutting up vegetables. So, Haruhi gave another shrug, and he followed her into the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, the sizzle of salmon in a skillet was drowned out by Haruhi's muffled giggling after she inspected Kyouya's work, and he was frowning in a way that looked dangerously close to a pout. That, of course, just made it all the more difficult for Haruhi to stifle her laughter.

In spite of his self-confidence, Kyouya cut the vegetables at such irregular sizes and angles that there was no way they would cook evenly as they were, and while Kyouya was extremely satisfied to hear Haruhi's laughter—even if it was at his expense—he knew that they had to get on with cooking if they ever wanted to eat. So once his near-pout turned into a glare, Haruhi stuck up her hands and apologized half-heartedly as she wiped tears from her eyes. Going by her reaction, he guessed that he'd ruined the vegetables and offered to go buy some more from the supermarket, but she shook her head, not liking to waste food.

"Here, just cut them all up really small. Like about this size," she directed, showing him how to dice up the vegetables further as she continued smiling. "Just be careful not to cut yourself. We can just have fried rice instead." Then she set about grabbing some eggs from the fridge and heating up another pan as Kyouya concentrated on cutting the vegetables properly this time.

By the time they finished, they were both more than ready to eat, and while the vegetables in the fried rice were still not totally consistent in size, the meal tasted adequate even to his refined palate. But he was sure that it was due to not only Haruhi's cooking skills, but also the fact that the atmosphere surrounding her was brighter than it had been since everything began—a fact for which he was extremely grateful.

"How about some dessert then, senpai?" she asked once they had both finished off their plates, and Kyouya gave a nod as she stood to go grab the cake he'd brought from the kitchen. When she opened the box, she marveled over how impressive it looked, though Kyouya just shrugged.

"It's just a normal cake, isn't it?" he asked, not understanding what was so spectacular about it, but she rolled her eyes.

"Well it certainly is a higher class than the cakes that are at the supermarket," she replied in good humor, and Kyouya simply hummed in response as he recalled the cakes he saw during the club's last expedition to the supermarket.

Haruhi cut the cake up, they both took a slice and she hummed in delight at the flavor where he enjoyed her reaction more than he enjoyed the cake itself. As such, he picked the strawberries off of his slice and moved them to her plate. She blinked at the red fruit that appeared on her plate before looking up at him a mix of confusion and surprise showing on her expression. He couldn't help finding the expression endearing, but quickly adjusted his glasses once again as he shook off the thought.

"You like them more than I do," he explained simply before going back to eating. She flashed him a wide smile and thanked him before returning to eating as well. Really, Kyouya had an affinity for strawberries himself, but her smile gave him more satisfaction than the fruit could have, so he was pleased with his decision to give them up.

Once they'd finished their meal, Kyouya offered to help her wash the dishes, and she eyed him with skepticism again—which irked him more than he wanted to admit—but figured there were only so many ways that a person could mess up washing dishes, so she went ahead and let him help. This time the work passed without incident, though she had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at his serious expression as he concentrated on washing and drying each dish perfectly.

But once the chore was complete, Haruhi stood around a little awkwardly, and Kyouya watched for a moment before heading back into the main room and grabbing his books, situating himself at the table once again. She just stared at him, surprised and confused yet again, but she also couldn't help feeling slightly relieved.

Despite paying more attention to her reaction in his peripheral vision than the words in the textbook in front of him, he didn't say anything else, and after another moment or two, Haruhi followed behind, picking up her own materials and Kaoru's notes. He didn't particularly want to leave her company yet since he was so relieved to see her doing better than she had in a while, and he could tell that she definitely wasn't keen on being alone just yet either. Plus, he figured that if she had any questions about the materials she missed, he could help—not that he expected she would need it, given her intellect and position at the top of her class.

While she would probably be annoyed if it were anyone else trying to extend their stay beyond the invitation she had given, but since it was Kyouya, she didn't really mind. Plus, it was hard for her to be on her own since her thoughts would quickly turn dark if she spent too much time in her own head. She didn't want to spend time around too many people just yet since it was even more tiring to try to keep everyone from worrying—of course, she knew logically that they wanted her to rely on them, but she could only fight her nature so much—so spending time with Kyouya, doing simple chores and homework together, made her feel even better than she had anticipated. She could feel him watching her sometimes, probably worrying in his own way, but somehow his quiet concern didn't make her feel like she had to keep up a brave front. Of course, she knew that her ease around him was likely the result—at least in part—of crying in front of him so much already that there would be no point in trying to maintain a pretense of everything being fine. But in any case, she simply enjoyed his reassuring presence as they each quietly worked on their own tasks.

Kyouya finished his homework as Haruhi only just started on hers since she had to copy Kaoru's notes, but Kyouya made no move to leave and simply pulled out his laptop to work on his own pet projects, waiting for her to finish. But after another hour or two, they heard the door click open as Ranka returned. They exchanged greetings and he and Kyouya talked pleasantly for a while, but after a few minutes Kyouya decided to return home, not wanting to be in the way of the two since he could tell that Ranka wanted to spend time with Haruhi himself, especially with her significantly improved mood.

So once he said his goodbyes to the two, he called for a car and soon arrived back home, feeling much more relaxed than he had for the last few days. Of course, he knew that there were still several problems to be handled, but as long as Haruhi was able to laugh like she did earlier, he felt that somehow everything really could work out, and he hoped that his visit had helped her as much as it had helped him.

And by the time he returned home, his hopes were more or less confirmed with a quick message from Ranka.

_She just fell asleep. Thank you._

He knew that Ranka's gratitude was loaded with more than a simple thanks for keeping his daughter company.

_I'm pleased to help. Let me know if there is anything else that I can do._

He replied before sliding into his own bed, overcome by the exhaustion and relief that had settled over him.

* * *

**There we go. Sorry that I was so slow with these chapters. I've had a busy few weeks, but I'll have chapter 7 up on Friday. **

**Hope you liked the chapter! (This was one of my absolute favorites to write so far.) Have a wonderful day!**


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